Ribbon-inking machine



Feb. 7. 1925. 1,526,947

C. E. ARCHBALD RIBBON INKING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Char/e5 L. I l/(613019 L 14/777 Feb. 11. 1925. v' v 1,526,947

' c; E. ARCHBALD' g RIBBON INKING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1922 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

Feb. 11.1925. v 1,526,947

. C.E.ARCHBALD RIBBON INKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 17. 1925. 1,526,947

C. E. ARCHBALD RIBBON INKING-MACHINE Filed June 15, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Choir/a5 [TAK/Iba/d W QXAW Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

CHARLES E. ARCHBALD, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY.

RIBBON-INKING MACHINE.

Application filed June 15, 1922. Serial No. 568,404.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. ARCH- BALD. a citizen of the United States, and resident of New Brunswick, New Jersey, ha\e invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbon-Inking Machines; and I do here-bydeclare the following to be a full and exact description thereofQreference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and to the reference numerals marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to provide a machine for inking fabric and particularly one for impregnating ribbons such as are used on typewriting machines.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide certain improvements in the instrumentalities for impregnating or saturating multi-color typewriter ribbons whereby the different inking materials, or inks of different-color, may be applied to opposite edges of the strip of fabric'and brought to the center or other point of division on the ribbon in such a. way that the colors will not eo-mingle although they are immediately adjacent without a visible point of separation between them.

Certain features of the invention relate more particularly to the mounting of the ink trays; the means of supporting the ink applying and pressure rollers; the construction and location of the feeding mechanism, whereby the ribbon may be fed in such a way as to prevent strain upon the'fabric, and also to the construction of the inking rollers per se.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully describedpthe novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying one form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view taken along the line-3"3" of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation showing the manner in which the ink trays are mounted.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the rear ends of the ink trays.

Fig. 6 is across-sectional view taken on the line 6"-6" of Fig. 3.

Fig. is a detail of part of the driving mechanism showing the belt-shifter.

Similar reference numerals in the several ance with my present invention comprises, i

as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a base or bed plate 1, preferably supported at a convenient height by legs 2 and having thereon supports or brackets 3 and it which carry the lnking rolls and the ribbon feeding and rewinding mechanism. The supports. 3 and 4 are slotted to receive journal boxes of the co-operating inking rolls and to permit the independent movement of one of these relatively to the other. In carrying out my invention I prefer to mount the rolls in vertical alignment and to fix the bearings 5-5 for the upper roller 6 in the upper ends of the slots of the supports 3 and 4, and to mount the journal boxes 7-7 of the lower or pressure roller 8 so thatthe latter will be capable of a limited vertical movement.

In a machine of this character it isvery essential, as I have found from practice, to use the utmost care in making the co-operating surfaces of the two rollers perfect cylinders and of maintaining them at all times in perfect. axial alignment and while the first requirement may be accomplished by'good workmanship the second is diflicult' to obtain not only when the machine is first constructed but to maintain later when the machine is in use. This is especially so when the care of the machine isentrusted to the usual operators in this class of work. I have, therefore, provided as a special feature for the machine a means of adjustment for the upper stationary roll which permits the journal boxes thereof to be moved horizontally, or in a plane transverse to that of the plane of the axes of the two rolls. This adjustment may be accomplished in avariety of ways, but I have foundthat a simple and satisfactory way of accomplishing the desired result is obtained by making the boxes 5 slightly lessthan the width of the slots in the supports 3 and 4 and roviding in the front and rear sides of the latter screws 5 and 5 which may be adjusted to accurately align theaxis of the upper roll with that of the lower roll. In constructing the rolls it is necessary to provide them with very hard and uniformly tempered surfaces to insure their wearing qualities because of the heavy pressure which is frequently applied to them, and in order to secure these qualities and facilitate the manufacture of the rolls, I constructthem with an inner hub, integral with the stub shafts carried in the journal boxes, and mount upon the hubs outer rims or shells of high grade steel. This construction, it will be seen, permits the rims to be tempered evenly throughout and after they are hardened they are pressed onto the hubs and their surfaces ground true. If desired, the rims may be shrunk in the hubs during the tempering process.

The lower roller is held in operating posi tion by rods or plungers 1010extending upwardly through the base and the lower ends of the standards into engagement with the lower sides of the boxes 7-7. These plungers, at their lower ends, are provided with heads 11 with which engage adjustable set screws 12 on short lever arms 13 secured to a shaft 14 carried in bearings 15, depending from the base 1, and carrying an arm 16 along which a weight 17 may be adjusted for providing the pressure which it may be desired to give to the fabric passing between the rolls Power for rotating the inking rolls may be provided in any suitable manner, but my preferred driving mechanism comprises an arrangement of parts such as shown in Fig. 2 wherein the base 1 is shown extended and carrying two uprights 18 and 19 in alignment with the supports 3 and 4. Between the uprights 18 and 19 are tight and loose pulleys 20 and 21 journaled in alignment with the upper roll 6. The tight pulley 20 is keyed to the shaft 22 and one end of the latter is connected to the projecting end of the stub shaft of roll 6 by a somewhat flexible driving connection 23, which will compensate for any inaccuracies in the ali nment of the two shafts, and permit the in ependent adjustment of the roll 6 without causing it to bind in its bearings. The lower roll is also positively driven through the pinions 24 and 25, the former being keyed to the shaft 22 and the latter held in a bearing 26 which is vertically adjustable on the support 18 and is held in its roper position by a thrust rod 27 with which cooperates the adjustable set screw 28 extending upwardly through the base 1. In order to provide for the ample vertical movement of the lower roll which it is desirable to provide, to facilitate the insertion of the fabric, the driving connection between it and the pinion 25 comprises a universal joint preferably composed of a plurality of blocks and links, indicated by 29.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a detail of the beltshifting device which is located at the front of the machine, and comprises the lever 30 pivoted at its lower end on the base 1 and attached near its upper end to a rod 31 movable longitudinally in the brackets 32 and carrying the belt-shifting fingers 33. A coil spring 34 serves to move the lever and the rod normally in a direction to throw the fingers 33 in front of the loose pulley 21, and in order to hold the parts in the operative position, as shown in Fig. 7, I have provided the upper extremity of the lever 30 with a latch which engages a projection 35 on one of the bearings 32, and, for convenience in operation, I provide the latch with an upwardly extending handle 36 which serves as a means for throwing the parts in a direction to compress the spring 34 and also as a trip for disengaging the latch when it its desired to arrest the machine quickly.

The ribbon feeding mechanism is located above the inking rolls and is so arranged that the fabric may pass downward from the periphery of the supply roll 37 in as nearly a direct line as possible to its point of contact with the surface of the upper roll 6, irrespective of the diameter of the roll. If desired, the ribbon may beguided adjacent its point of engagement with the roll (3 between the faces of two collars 37 which are adjustable on a rod 37 located in such a position that the ribbon, whether it passes from a supply roll of the full diameter or one that is nearly depleted, will not be given a kink, or sharp bend, before it passes into engagement with the roll 6.

The re-winding mechanism is likewise located'in such a position that the inked fabric may pass directly from the point at which it emerges from the inking rolls to the periphery of the re-wind roll 38. The object of this arrangement of parts of both the feeding and re-winding devices is to obviate the passing of the fabric over any guiding devices which necessitate its making a sharp bend, as these bends occurring while the ribbon is moving under tcnsioii places an undue strain upon its edges. This is especially true with what is known as cut typewriter ribbons which are formed in narrow widths cut from wide rolls of fabric. the edges of the narrow strips being gummed or sized to prevent fraying of the fabric. The bending or stretching of the edges of such a ribbon stretches the narrow margins of sizing, causing the ribbon to have a wavy appearance. Manipulation of a ribbon in this way further causes the sizing to be broken and the infinitesimal cracks thus formed allow the ribbon to be unevenly inked and also lessen its wearing qualities, thus materially shortening its durability when used on a typewriter or similar machine.

The supply roll indicated by 37 is journaled between the upper ends of supporting arms 39 and 40 guided at their lower extremities on a rod 41 carried in the brackets 42 and 43 bolted to the to s of supports 3 and 4. At about the mid le points of the arms 39 and 40 they are provided with laterally extending rods 44 and 45, respectively, which are guided in bosses on the upper ends of the brackets 42 and 43. The guiding of the arms in this way permits them to accommodate the largest standard sizes of ribbon rolls and permits them to be adjusted relatively to each other and also to be shifted simultaneously with respect to the inking rolls without binding, either in their guides or binding the roll of fabric supported by them. The adjustments just mentioned are accomplished by the screw 46,

having the right and left hand threaded portions by means of which the arms may be moved relatively toward and from each other, and by a micrometer screw adjustment 47 arranged. to move the screw 46 lonitudinally whereby the arms 39 and 40 may be simultaneously shifted.

The arbor for the re-winding roll is supported on the outer end of a rearwar'dly and upwardly extending arm 55 carrying the pulley 56'driven by a belt 57 from the double pulley 58 which in turn is driven by belt 59, from the pulley 60 on the shaft of the roll 6.

To facilitate the application of two different colors to a strip of fabric, I make the.

lower inking roller 8 in two sections, the second section 8 comprising acol'larwhich is held in place on the shaft by a key 8 and lock nuts 8, this construction being provided for the purpose of accommodating a partition or division wall 61 which separates the bodies of ink carried by the separate portions of the roll into engagement with the fabric. The adjacent sections of the roller are provided on their inner faces with annular grooves in which are fitted rings, or waphers, of felt or other yielding materia 62.

The division wall or partition'61 is pro vided on its upper edge with a curved portion 62 which is concentric with the surface of the upper roll 6,'and extends a suiticient distance to engage the latter or, more properly speaking, the ribbon thereon at a point considerably in advance of that at which the ink is applied and it also extends beyond the meeting point of the rolls where the excess ink is squeezed out of theribbon.

Thepartition also extends downwardly beneath the roll 8 and forwardly and rearwardly thereofso that it is at all .times a division wall between theink trays 65 and 66.

In a machinev of this character it is especially desirable that provision be made for. readily inserting and removing the ink trays and to this end ,I have provided a novel means of attachment, comprising generally a tray frame which is mounted so that it moves vertically with the lower inking roller and detachable connections between it and the separate ink trays, whereby the latter,

the joint formed between the adjacent edges of the trays and the faces of the partition. The tray frame comprises side pieces 67 and 68, each having lateral extensions or fingers 67 and 68*, by means of which they are attaehed to the lower edges of the bearing boxes 7, and at their forward and rear ends these frame pieces extend upwardly and are connected by front and rear cross-pieces 69 and 70 and an intermediate front crosspiece 71.

The ink trays, which are preferably of thin cast metal, are rectangular, when viewed from the top as shown in Fig. 3, and each comprises a curved bottom 72, an outer side wall 73 and an inner side wall 74, the latter being cutout as indicated at 75, to provide ample clearance when the tray is positioned beneath the lower roll. Each tray is provided at its forward end with a stud 76 hearing a sleeve 77 on which is an upwardly extending hooked finger 78 which engages a stud 79 on the front cross-piece 69. Projecting outwardly from the finger 78 is a thumb-piece 80 which facilitates the engagement and disengagement of the finger and stud. The latch and thumb-piece constitute a bell crank lever and the latter performs the additional function of providing means whereby pressure may be exerted to impart a slight lateral movement to the tray to accomplish which the stud 76, which is the fulcrum point, is located below the top edge of the tray. The means for attaching the rear ends of the trays are somewhat similar, although the hooked fingers in this position are constructed as shown in Fig. 5 and provided with the downwardly curved ends 83 which at their lower extremities project laterallyeand are adapted to engage small projections 84 on the bottom of the trays near their inner edges. Carried on crosspieces 69 and 70 are pivoted links 81 carrying thumb screws 82 which are adapted to co-operate with the thumb pieces or lever arms of the several hook fingers for applying pressure to them. From this arrangement of parts it will be observed that a tray may be secured at its forward and rear edges by fixing its hooked projections in engagement with the corresponding studs on the cross-pieces of the tray frame, and there after by adjustment of the thumb screws 82 a slight lateral movement may be imparted to the tray to carry it into engagement with the partition 61, a. close fitting contact of the lower inner edge therewith being effected by the lever arm 83 which applies pressure at a point below the fulcrum points of the attaching arms. The providing of separate ink trays, it will be seen, is a distinct advantage in a machine of the character described and this feature has proved in practice to save a considerable portion .of the operators time when it becomes necessary to clean the machine, or trays. The feature of making the trays separately demountable makes it possible to use a plurality'of pairs of trays containing different colors, and by the arrangement I have provided no inconvenience is experienced by the leaking of ink from one tray to another.

Provision for adjusting the partition. 61, so as to position it to apply the desired pressure against the surface of a ribbon passing beneath the upper roll is effected by means of threaded studs 90 extending upwardly from the ends of the partition and eo-operating with the nuts 91 fitted in slots in-the cross-pieces 70 and 71. This adjustment, it will be noticed, may be as delicate as occasion' requires to suit fabrics of different thicknesses which it may be desired to impregnate and, at the same time, exert sufficient pressure thereon in front of the meeting point of the rolls and in rear thereof to prevent the flow of ink from one side of the ribbon to the other when applied by the two sections of the lower roll.

Many of the details of the invention illustrated maybe modified without departing from the spirit of my invention and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the pre cise construction of the parts shown, nor do I wish to limit myself to a machine for -applying two colors only, or to a machine for inking typewriter ribbons, as it is understood that the machine is adaptable for other classes of work.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with avpair of inking rolls, one of which is movable toward and from'the other, a frame supporting them and a tray frame mounted to move with said movable roll, of an ink tray detachably suspended beneath the tray frame.

2. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with ink-applying rolls, a main frame supporting them, and an ink tray located beneath the latter, of a tray frame extending at opposite sides of the inking roll above the tray and connections between the tray frame and the ends of the tray detachably supporting the latter.

3. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with a pair of inking rolls, one of which is movable toward and from the other, a frame, journals therein for said rolls and a supporting means carried by the journals of the movable roll, of an ink tray located beneath said support and connections detachably suspending the tray from the support.

4. In an inking machine, the combination with av pair of rolls, one of which is movable toward and from the other, of a tray frame comprising cross pieces mountedto follow the movement of and spaced from said roll,

an ink tray located beneath said roll and within the frame, and detachable connections suspending the tray at its ends from the cross bars.

5. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with an upper roll, a lower divided rolland a partition located between the portions of the latter and extending downwardly beneath it, of a pair of ink trays located at opposite sides of the-partition and adjustable means for supporting each tray separately and acting to move it'laterally against the partition.

6. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with a frame, an upper roll and a lower divided roll, journal boxes guided on the frame and movably supporting the lower roll for independent vertical movement, of a tray frame attached to said boxes and having cross pieces extending at opposite sides of the roll, a partition supported thereon and extending between the portions of said roll and downwardly therefrom, separate ink trays suspended from the cross pieces and supporting members connecting them therewith and serving to adjust the trays laterally intoengagement with the sides of the partition.

'7. In a' ribbon inking machine, the combination with an upper roll, a lower divided roll and a partition locatedbetween the latter, of a tray jframe extending in front and rear of said roll, ink trays beneath the latter at each side of the partition and attaching members cooperating with the trays and frame serving to suspend the former from the latter and to adjust the trays laterally toward each other and into engagement with opposite sides of the partition.

8. In a ribbon, inking machine, the combination with an upper roll, a lower divided roll and a partition located between the latter, of a tray frame extending in front and rear of said roll, an ink tray beneath the latter, lever arms carried on the 'ends of the tray and'engaging the tray frame to support said tray and means on said frame cooperating with the lever arms to swing the tray laterally into contact-with the partition.

9. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with an upper roll, a lower dividedroll and a partition located between the latter, of a tray frame extending in front' and rear of said roll, an ink tra-y beneath the latter, bell crank lever' arms arranged to support the ends of the tray from the tray frame and adjusting members on the latter engaging one end of each of said lever arms to swing the tray laterally.

10. In a ribbon inking machine, the comextensions, for swinging the tray laterally.

bination with an upper roll, a lower divided roll and a partition located between the latter, of a tray frame extending in front and rear of said roll, ink trays be neath the latter, bell crank leverarms arranged to support the ends of the trays from the tray frame, the supporting levers for the different trays having portions extending relatively in opposite directions, and adjusting members on the tray frame engaging the several lever arms and acting to swing the two trays toward each other. H

11. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with an upper roll, a lower divided roll and a partition located between the latter, of a tray frame extending in front and rearof said roll, an'ink tray beneath the latter, lever arms pivoted on the ends of the tray having upwardly extending ends adapted to engage the tray frame and also provided with lateral extensions, swinging links on the frame and adjusting screws carried thereby. and cooperating with said 12. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with a 'pair of upper and lower inking rolls, the latter being movable to-' ward and from the former and a frame supporting them, of an ink tray located beneath the movable rolls and having its ends extending above the axis thereofa frame for sup orting the tray mounted to move with said roll and comprising cross pieces located above the ends of the tray and detachable connections carried on the ends bers journaled on the studs and detachably engaging the cross pieces of the frame.

14. In a ribbon inking machine, the eom bination with an upper roll, a lower divided roll and a partition located between the portions of the latter, of an ink tray located beneath the lower roll and engaging one side-of the partition and having a curved bottom extending upwardly at opposite sides of the roll, a frame for supporting the tray havingcross-pieces located above the tray,

latch members pivoted at the ends of the tray and engaging the cross pieces, one of said members having an end following the contour of said bottom and engaging therewith at a point removed from its pivot and means on the frame for exerting pressure on said latch member to move the tray laterally in a direction toward the partition.

15. In a ribbon inking machine, the combination with a frame, inking rolls thereon, of a ribbon feeding mechanism mounted above the rolls comprising arms for supporting at their upper ends a supply roll arbor, spaced uprights at opposite sides of the lower ends of the arms, a guide between them engaging the lower extremities of said arms, rods extending laterally from intermediate points on the arms and guided on the uprights and an adjusting member for moving the arms relatively located between the first mentioned guide and said laterally extending rods.

16. In an inking machine, the combination with a frame, two cooperating inking rolls therein, one. being mounted in fixed bearings having provision for lateral adjustment-and the other'being carried in movable bearings permitting its adjustment, toward and from the fixed roll, of a driving shaft and a driven'shaft, a flexible driving connection between the former and the fixed roll and a universal joint connection between the driven shaft and the movable roll.

CHARLES E. ARCHBALD. 

